Analyst Upgrades

• Piper Jaffray upgraded Dreamworks (DWA) to overweight from neutral following the company's Q2 results. The firm also raised its target for shares to $38 from $30.
• Stephens upgraded Global Payments (GPN) with a $50 price target following the company's Q4 results. Note, shares were downgraded this morning at Janney Montgomery.
• BMO Capital upgraded Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) to outperform from market perform, citing the company's planned exploration activity. The firm raised its price target to $27 from $23.
• eHealth (EHTH) was upgraded to perform from underperform at Oppenheimer and to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• NASDAQ OMX (NDAQ) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• C.H. Robinson (CHRW) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at BMO Capital.

Analyst Upgrades

• RBC Capital upgraded Suncor (SU) to outperform from sector perform following the Q1 report and FY10 production guidance. The firm has a $46 target on the stock.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) to outperform from market perform. The firm expects the company to report higher-than-expected Q1 revenue and guidance, as it thinks a late cycle ad recovery is occurring.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Power Integrations (POWI) to overweight from neutral following the company's Q1 results and subsequent sell-off. The firm has a $43 price target for shares.
• ArcelorMittal (MT) was upgraded to buy from hold at ING Group.
• Sapient (SAPE) was raised to conviction buy from buy at Goldman and to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Powerwave (PWAV) was upgraded to buy from hold at Befferies and to buy from neutral at Merriman.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $265 from $170, citing higher iPhone expectations, new partnerships, and likely upward revisions to Street estimates driven by gross margins.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm views a possible deal between end General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal positively, as it thinks NBC will provide higher-margin growth for Comcast.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Michael Baker (AMEX: BKR) to Buy from Neutral after the company completed the sale of its Energy business. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $40.
• Jefferies assumed coverage of Endo Pharma (NASDAQ: ENDP) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The firm cites valuation, a strong base business, and solid cash flow for the upgrade, and has a $30 target price on shares.
• Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Analyst upgrades:

• Kaufman Bros. upgraded American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) to Buy from Hold as it believes the follow-on contract from Sinovel has positive implications. The firm has a $36 price target on shares.
• Goldman upgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation, visible long-term growth, and signs of sales stabilization. The firm has a $75 target on shares.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) to Buy from Hold on valuation following the recent underperformance. The firm raised its target on shares to $5.50 from $4.
• Novartis (NYSE: NVS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.
• eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) was upgraded to Buy from Accumulate at ThinkEquity.
• China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Roth Capital.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Hold as it believes the credit cycle is starting to recover for U.S. credit cards and an improving economy will support bank credit stabilization. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $28.
• JPMorgan upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and believes the stock market recovery will serve as a catalyst.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Hold after its channel checks indicated a sooner-than-expected order ramp and stabilizing pricing trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• COTT Corp. (NYSE: COT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect upcoming catalysts and the company's opportunity in subsalt. FBR raised its target on shares to $60 from $50.
• Citigroup upgraded Marvel (NYSE: MVL) to Hold from Sell on expectations the acquisition by Disney (NYSE: DIS) will close. The firm raised its target on shares to $50 from $31.
• JPMorgan upgraded Cubic (NYSE: CUB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the Vix ERG acquisition and increased sales visibility. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $38.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Thompson Creek (NYSE: TC) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a surprise profit but is expected to return to losses next quarter.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) profit and revenue were in line with expectations, sending shares lower.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) posted better-than-expected earnings but other concerns drove down shares.
• eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) reported solid Q2 numbers but Wall Street was not impressed.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 loss, sending shares higher.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) reported swinging to a Q2 net loss and revenues were flat.

Founded in 1997, eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) has built a powerful online platform for health insurance (focused on individuals, families and small businesses). With President Obama's ambitious plans to reform health care, the company has been savvy with its public relations efforts. Over the past few months, eHealth has certainly received valuable ink.

The company has also posted its Q2 results, which are solid. Revenues came to $33.4 million, up 22% and submitted applications increased 17% to 121,100. Cash flows from operations were $8.3 million. In all, eHealth has $150.6 million in the bank.

Analyst upgrades:

• Janney Montgomery upgraded Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) to Buy from Neutral on valuation, viewing the recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The firm has a $19 target on the stock.
• UBS upgraded Gildan Activewear (NYSE: GIL) to Buy from Neutral due to customer Broder's improved liquidity and the improved outlook for margins.
• RBC Capital upgraded State Street (NYSE: STT) to Top Pick from Outperform and raised its target to $55 from $40. The analyst said the $2B capital raise addresses TCE ratio concerns and large unrealized losses in the investment portfolio.
• Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.
• Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Banc of America/Merrill.
• M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

Analyst upgrades:

• Barclays upgraded the Integrated Oil sector to Positive from Neutral citing valuations. Note that Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight based on valuation.
  
• After Force Protection (NASDAQ: FRPT) reported that its 1H08 sales increased more than 200%, Stanford thinks that Force Protection could be poised for several new opportunities in 2009 and they believe the company's risk is already priced into the stock; the firm raised Force Protection to Hold from Sell.
  
• Cowen expects eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) to benefit from the steady decline in employer-sponsored health insurance offered by small businesses and reduced regulatory risk, among other reasons. The firm upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral.
• Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital.
  
• Caris upgraded Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ: CKEC) to Above Average from Average.
  
• International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst upgrades:

• Goldman upgraded shares of British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) to Buy from Neutral and added the company to the Conviction Buy List as they find the stock oversold at current levels.
  
• Goldman also added Publicis (OTC: PUBGY) to the Conviction Buy List and upgraded shares to Buy from Neutral as they find the stock cheap at current levels.
• Oneok (NYSE: OKE) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Lehman.
  
• UBS raised Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst downgrades:

• Baird downgraded Amylin Pharma (NASDAQ: AMLN) to Neutral from Outperform and said they are incrementally more cautious on the commercial performance of Amylin's Byetta following the yesterday's update. Amylin's target was lowered to $27 from $37. Soleil recommends investors avoid Amylin with the disclosure last night of four additional cases of mortality associated with pancreatitis in patients who were on Byetta. The firm cut shares to Sell from Hold and lowered their target to $20 from $25.
  
• Citigroup downgraded shares of AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) to Sell from Hold on valuation as they find the stock expensive following the recent run-up. The firm raised their target to $9 from $6.70 to reflect the drop in crude prices.
  
• J Crew (NYSE: JCG) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Murray following the weak Q2 report and guidance.
• JMP Securities downgraded Quality Systems (NASDAQ: QSII) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• National Grid (NYSE: NGG) was lowered to Equal Weight from Overweight at Lehman.

Analyst initiations:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: CSG Systems, Bankrate and Intercontinental Exchange were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of CSG Systems (NASDAQ: CSGS) following the company's Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) contract renewal to reflect increased visibility and an attractive cash flow yield. The firm raised their target price to $18.50 from $15.
  
• Roth Capital upgraded Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE) to Buy from Hold citing valuation, the company's announced stock repurchase program, and expectations for some gross margin expansion in 2H08.
  
• BMO Capital upgraded Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) to Outperform from Market Perform as they believes the threat of negative legislation to ICE's business has declined sharply in recent days and that current valuation is factoring a much worse outcome than is likely.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Lennar (NYSE: LEN) was upgraded at UBS to Neutral from Sell.
  
• eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) was raised to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
  
• Nike (NYSE: NKE) was raised to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna.

With the presidential election, the topic of healthcare has been red-hot. And that's giving more visibility to eHealth (Nasdaq: EHTH), which operates a platform to allow individuals, families and businesses to purchase health insurance.

No doubt, it's is a good business. In Q4, eHealth posted revenues of $24.2 million, up 39%. Net income came to $22.4 million (which included a major tax benefit). Cash flow from operations was $7.9 million, up 61%. In all, eHealth has $121.5 million in the bank.

Basically, eHealth is a marketing powerhouse – and has been particularly skillful with online advertising and search engine optimization. That is, if you query popular healthcare terms on Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), you are likely to see links to eHealth.

The company is also getting lots of traction from major partners, such as Aetna (NASDAQ: AET). What's more, eHealth is expanding into new markets, such as with China and a new product for HSAs.

Interestingly enough, the slowing economy may be helping eHealth. How? Well, as people lose their jobs, they often need to buy their own healthcare insurance policies.

So far, investors are happy with the results. In today's trading, eHealth's stock is up 17.57% to $25.90.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Cougar Biotech, Penford and AtriaCure were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Oppenheimer believes Cougar Biotech's (NASDAQ: CGRB) lead compound abiraterone is well positioned to address two underserved lines of therapy in prostate cancer with highly unmet medical needs. The firm assumed coverage of Cougar with a Buy rating and $43 target.
  
• Jefferies believes Penford's (NASDAQ: PENX) initiatives to improve product mix and increase returns on capital should lift the company's valuation multiples, starting shares with a Buy rating and $33 target.
  
• AtriaCure (NASDAQ: ATRC) was initiated with an Outperform rating and $17 target at Barrington, as they have confidence the company's minimally invasive approach will be the standard of care procedure for the less invasive surgical management of atrial fibrillation.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Penske Automotive (NYSE: PAG) was initiated with a Reduce rating and $17 target at Calyon.
  
• Broadpoint initiated Applied Material (NASDAQ: AMAT) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Jefferies initiated eHealth (NASDAQ: EHTH) with a Buy rating and $36 target.

So many things are sold on the Web now that it can be difficult to remember when it all got started. Some might be surprised to know, for example, that the first Internet-based sale of a U.S. health insurance policy was made over ten years ago. The firm involved was a Mountain View, California outfit that serves nearly 400,000 customers today.

eHealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) is an online source of health insurance for individuals, families and small businesses. The company presents health insurance information in a user-friendly format, enabling the comparison and purchase of health insurance products that best meet consumers' needs. The firm is licensed throughout the United States, operating in partnership with some 160 health insurance carriers. It provides health, dental, and vision insurance products from the likes of Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) and Coventry Health Care, Inc. (NYSE: CVH).

eHealth pleased investors earlier in the month, when it reported 3rd Quarter (Q3) earnings per share (EPS) of 15 cents and revenues of $23 million. Analysts had been expecting 12 cents and $22.4 million. Management also guided fiscal year (FY) 2007 EPS to 51-55 cents (48 cent consensus) and FY07 revenues to $87.2-$88.0 million ($86.8M consensus). Estimated membership grew 35%year over year. EHTH shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with four "strong buys", three "holds" and a "sell". Analysts see a 32% growth rate, through the next year. The EHTH Sales Growth rate (37.72%), Net Profit Margin (25.05%), Return on Assets (27.98%), Return on Investment (32.14%) and Return on Equity (103.02%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 67 percent of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $17.67 and $34.89. A stop-loss of $28.70 if one were to consider the stock looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com.